And Then There Were None (2015)

 

Just finished watching BBC’s 2015 interpretation of the Agatha Christie classic : And Then There Were None. And I think this is by far the best adaptation of the famed novel. Everything from the screenplay, casting to location of the show was spot on, if this the way they produce such dramas then we are eagerly waiting for more. But I particularly  enjoyed was that they wrapped up the story in three smartly written episodes, a more profit drive producer/director would have stretched the story unnecessarily to at least 10 episodes and destroyed its fabric.

Jolly spot on:

1: The original ending. The novel has been adapted numerous times to stage , films and TV, but most of them have changed the ending so that not all of the visitors to the island die. In order to give the viewer a happy ending many of them changed the story so that Vera and Phillip end up together. But BBC chose the original ending, though they slightly modified some of the methods.

2: Cast.  The cast of this show was spectacular. They got strong , capable actors for every role, even to the flamboyant Tony Marston. Sam Neill of Jurassic Park fame as the colonel and Gorman from Forever as the detective were winners.  But I guesss everyone loved Aidan's Phillip Lombard and Maeve's Vera.

3: Screenplay. The screenplay used flashbacks often , to show the backstories of all the visitors. It was fun going back and forth their stories. I expected multiple flashbacks during the climax, to show the viewers how each victim was targeted. But there were none. Instead, the Judge just talks to Vera and fills in the gaps for us.

4: The set. The island, the house, the setting inside, the cars, train, right down to the clothes and food, it was perfect to tell the story. The actors spoke with different accents, perfectly for their statuses.

I started reading Agatha Christie I think in 1993 (boy, its really been than long ?), when our school got  a new batch of freshly printed paperbacks. Of course, they were all abridged versions, so much of the blood and gore had been tuned down, and the talk of infidelity and affairs were only alluded to. It would be another few years before I chanced upon some original unabridged versions, and really saw the author's craft.  And Then There Were None is my favourite of Christie's work, and I have  watched many adaptations of it. The story is of ten strangers stuck on a deserted island and murdered in a closed room mystery with no explanation. There is even a Hindi language Indian/Bollywood adaptation, but it was peppered with songs and dances, and it was only six people murdered on the island. The 9th was the hero, he lives, and saves the girlfriend (10th), and even the butler and his sister escapes. Truly a lazy adaptation. The 2004 movie Mindhunters was a un-credited , telling of the same story in modern times, very nice watch.

So here's to the next generation of Agatha Chritie fans, and to more adaptations of her work.

2015 in movies: fantastic year for sequels ; and to 90s movies

 

I don't watch movies very often, but confession: I watched more movies this year than ever before ! This year moviegoers got to watch the sequels to the movies of the 90s, a new generation of movie makers taking over the mantle.  From Mad Max to Star Wars, and Ethan Hunt to James Bond, it was a whole truckload of movies across genres and timelines.

The first such sequel which attempts to restart a 90s era franchise was Mad Max: Fury Road. Yes, I still can't believe this movie came out this year, it seems such a long time ago.

 

The next feast to the eyes was the (probably) most awaited movie of the year,  Jurassic World.

The third biggest sequel this year was of course Star Wars: Force Awakens. I know the original did not come out in the 90s, but this is one of the earliest trilogies which came out, and millenium falcon was not scene for decades.

Many other franchises also released sequels this year.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation came out half-way through the year.

The 24th James Bond movie came out this year, named Spectre.

But the sequels, well they just kept on coming.

Fans of Fast & Furious got the 7th instalment of the franchise, Furious 7. The re-used plot lines to this genre was mocked in a parody film: Superfast.

The Marvel universe had multiple offerings this year, the biggest impact was via Avengers: Age of Ultron. They also had Ant-Man. But then they released the horrible horrible Fantastic 4 reboot, which was the biggest dud, and which some critics called a spectacular failure on so many different levels.

 

And hopefully the last of the Hungergames movies too came out this year.

 

And space junkies were gifted with another space movie, this time set on Mars.

 

I love animation movies, and this year turned out to be a feast for the child in me. (and you.) It is just me, or has it become easier to make animation movies now ? Multiple studios released long awaited movies using everything from stop motion animation to cutting edge computer animation.

Everyone's favourite animation studio, Pixar had a double offering this year. Two so very different movies set in two vastly different settings. First was Inside Out, set in the mind of a teenage girl.

But then, they released the Good Dinosaur for thanksgiving (thanks , Pixar !), where the story is set in an alternate history where dinosaurs are not extinct.

But this did not stop other studios from testing the waters either. The first animation movie to come out this year was stop motion from Aardman, Shaun the Sheep.

The Minions movie came out half way in July, telling the prequel to the Despicable Me movies.

Then there was the Peanuts movie.

And then…the monster movie Hotel Transylvania 2. Phew !!

 

 

 

 

But then , the year had duds too , proving that even time tested stories sometimes will fail if not properly done.The biggest dud of the year was the 100th (something like that) Steve Jobs movie. The clue here was it was loved by the critics :-)

And the spectacular failures of Fantastic Four reboot, and the Gem movie.

Merry Christmas !!

 

 

A Merry Christmas to everyone !

 

 

 

If you Google “Merry Christmas” right now, you will get a google customized page.

This year’s El Nino

 

 

Star Wars - The Force Awakens

I watched the Star Wars –The Force Awakens. I liked the movie, but it is basically a huge marketting gimic at work. The story is 90% same to the story of Episode 4. New actors portraying younger version –2s of those iconic charachters from the original trilogy, complete with a new droid. I am surprised the movie is not receiving flak for reusing ealier storylines. Guess people just wanna be transported to that galaxy far far away.

Honestly, I have never been a fan of the Star Wars movies. I was born the year the last movie of the original trilogy came out. And by the time I grew up, those movies were only on casette. Then I had to wait till the new millienium for the god-awful prequel trilogies. The only thing I remember from those movies is the beautiful Natalie Porter. I could never understand why anyone would want to bring swords to gun fights, and how every planet in the movie had the same gravity and breathable air. And then there were the coincidences. All the charachters in the movies meet up in coincidence, when the actual chances of them meeting was one in millions. Leia sends C3PO and R2D2 on a mission, they have to escape with the plans and they just run into Luke ? Of the thousands of planets there, how come they meet on the same planet in the same area ? And the brith of Anakin cannot be explained?

Well, the same thoughts came to me when I watched Force Awakens. The BB8 droid just runs into Rey ? And then they run into Han ? And then she finds Luke’s light saber ? Of all the planets there, how come the light saber was right where it was supposed to be ? How come Poe Dameron escapes and comes back ? And how can Rey use the force better than Ren ?

But then, these movies were never for the thinkers. They are for kids. And they are best enjoyed as such. The graphics has definitely improved, and the sound and music are top notch. The light saber duels are fiercer. The acting and writing is a joke, but the story flows steadily. We get to see new planets, younger versions of all those charachters. We meet the new Luke, new Solo, new Kenobi, new R2D3, new Darth Vader and the new Palpatine and see the new Death Star. If you have not watched the original movies, you might enjoy this one the best. I surely did.

Watch the Force Awakens. Witness the marketting machinery at work.